Do Not Disturb has been in iOS for quite a long time, and many users swear by it. It helps prevent annoying interruptions when a user is sleeping or otherwise doesn’t want to be disturbed with calls, text messages, etc.

While the media has constantly trumpeted this or that iOS feature, Do Not Disturb has gotten precious little attention. That’s a shame since it’s one of the most useful features in iOS.

How to enable Do Not Disturb on the iPhone or iPad

It’s very easy to enable Do Not Disturb on your iPhone or iPad.

1. Open the settings app.

2. Tap on Do Not Disturb

3. Tap on the Manual button if you want to turn it on or off manually.

4. You also have the option of tapping the Scheduled button to set a time each day to have Do Not Disturb work automatically.

5. You can also tap Allow Calls From if you want to exempt someone important from Do Not Disturb.

6. Tap the Repeated Calls option to let a second call within three minutes go through on your phone.

It’s very easy and fast to set up Do Not Disturb, and I highly recommend taking a moment to do so. It can save you from being annoyed by unwanted calls or text messages at inappropriate times.

Not everybody uses Do Not Disturb in iOS

Be careful about assuming that everybody is using Do Not Disturb. Some people still don’t know about it, and if you text them at late hours you may get an angry response.

How do I know this? Well I sent a friend some text messages around 1:30 AM about something, and got a frothing mad response for waking him up! Oops!

I have been using Do Not Disturb for so long that I assumed he was too, and boy did that mistake blow up in my face! He read me the riot act, to say the least.

I made sure though to explain how to use Do Not Disturb so he would at least know about it. He’s not very tech-savvy, so he never bothered to look for it in iOS. Now he at least knows about it, and I'm sure he appreciates its value after being woken up by my annoying text messages!

What some iOS users think about Do Not Disturb

Do Not Disturb came up recently in a thread on the Apple subreddit, and users there shared their thoughts about it:

H3rBz: “Do not disturb is awesome!

The ways I use do not disturb:

Have it automatically set between 10pm - 6:30am for super good sleepy times

Turn it on when trying to concentrate and avoid distractions at work

Turn it on before hoping in the car... SAFETY GUYS!

Turn it on when watching good movies, tv shows.

I've added my immediate family and best friends to favourite contacts, they're excluded so I don't miss any important calls!

Easiest way to access it: Swipe up for the very bottom of the screen bringing up control center and hit the moon symbol.”

Gaykid: “I would love to be able to schedule DND via calendar event. So if I’m going into a meeting/movie/church I can tick an option that puts my phone in DND outside of the normal schedule.”

Mehue: “Only thing that would be awesome is if it gave an option to turn it on for a certain amount of time, so you don’t forget to turn it off. For example, if you go to a movie theater, you could set it to be on for only 2 hours.”

Kratoz29: “My dad wanted to buy an iPod because he wanted to see media without being disturbed, he has an iPhone 6s, I told him how to use DND and now he doesn’t respond my calls heh.”

Nugeeyen: “As with everyone, DND needs to be more customizable on BOTH iOS and MacOS. Location-based and what specific days. I prefer to not have my phone be on DND starting at 1am when I’m out in the town or my macbook on DND from 9–5 on a weekend. Android does have these options (phone only obviously)”

Dizdi: “Yes, as a bartender who works at night, having it set for 4:30am to 2pm is a godsend- not everyone knows not to message me in the morning (not to mention other notifications from businesses etc).”

RadicalDude: “Power off is even better! You just hold the power button and then swipe!”

Jim Lynch is a technology analyst and online community manager who has also written for many leading industry publications over the years, including ITworld, InfoWorld, CIO, PCMag, ExtremeTech, and numerous others.

The opinions expressed in this blog are those of Jim Lynch and do not necessarily represent those of IDG Communications, Inc., its parent, subsidiary or affiliated companies.